Enveric Unveils Positive Results From Animal Studies Of Its Psilocin Prodrug For Anxiety

Enveric Biosciences ENVB announced positive results from pharmacokinetic animal studies demonstrating oral bioavailability, rapid onset of action and systemic clearance, and a more favorable side effect profile for the company’s lead product candidate, EB-373.

Pharmacokinetic measurements that were consistent in both dogs and rats confirmed that oral administration of EB-373, a psilocin-prodrug targeting anxiety disorders, resulted in dose-dependent increase in psilocin blood concentration, correlating to levels expected to be effective in humans. EB-373 demonstrated a very rapid conversion from prodrug to active metabolite psilocin, with concentrations of EB-373 that were approximately 100-fold lower in blood than psilocin and reached undetectable level after two hours. Additionally, psilocin blood concentration peaked at one hour after administration of EB-373 consistent with quicker onset of clinical effect.

The side effect profile was well tolerated overall, with notably no vomiting and no serious adverse events observed at any dose level.

“In two oral animal pharmacokinetic studies, our novel drug candidate, EB-373, was shown to have dose-dependent and rapid release of psilocin corresponding with rapid onset of effect,” stated Joseph Tucker, Ph.D., director and CEO of Enveric. “Importantly, quickly converting the parent compound EB-373 to the active metabolite psilocin followed by its subsequent rapid elimination are critical pharmacokinetic properties designed to offer optimal control over the timing and length of the hallucinatory experience in humans alongside achieving the desired therapeutic effect.”

Tucker added, “EB-373 treated animals exhibited reduced overall side effects, including GI upset and vomiting, compared to data from psilocybin reported in the literature. GI upset, vomiting, and the timing of both onset and resolution of effect are key target effects that EB-373 was designed to address leveraging our leading PsyAI machine-learning technology.”

Enveric intends to present thorough analyses of the pharmacokinetic animal studies for EB-373 at a future scientific conference.

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